The Most Famous

SOCCER PLAYERS from Latvia

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This page contains a list of the greatest Latvian Soccer Players. The pantheon dataset contains 21,273 Soccer Players, 17 of which were born in Latvia. This makes Latvia the birth place of the 85th most number of Soccer Players behind Trinidad and Tobago, and Lithuania.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Latvian Soccer Players of all time. This list of famous Latvian Soccer Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Latvian Soccer Players.

Photo of Leonid Ostrovski

1. Leonid Ostrovski (1936 - 2001)

With an HPI of 47.41, Leonid Ostrovski is the most famous Latvian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages on wikipedia.

Leonid Alfonsovich Ostrovski (Russian: Леонид Альфонсович Островский, Ukrainian: Леонід Альфонсович Островський, Latvian: Leonīds Ostrovskis; 17 January 1936 in Riga – 17 April 2001 in Kyiv) was a Soviet football player and manager of Jewish origin.

Photo of Māris Verpakovskis

2. Māris Verpakovskis (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 46.97, Māris Verpakovskis is the 2nd most famous Latvian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 40 different languages.

Māris Verpakovskis (born 15 October 1979), is a Latvian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He played for the Latvia national team at UEFA Euro 2004 and is the only Latvian player to score at the end stage of a major international football tournament.

Photo of Aleksandrs Starkovs

3. Aleksandrs Starkovs (b. 1955)

With an HPI of 43.97, Aleksandrs Starkovs is the 3rd most famous Latvian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Aleksandrs Starkovs (born 26 July 1955) is a Latvian football coach and a former player. Most recently he coached FK Liepāja. Starkovs has managed clubs such as Spartak Moscow in Russia, FK Baku in Azerbaijan and Skonto FC in Latvia. He had three stints with the Latvia national team.

Photo of Vitālijs Astafjevs

4. Vitālijs Astafjevs (b. 1971)

With an HPI of 42.48, Vitālijs Astafjevs is the 4th most famous Latvian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Vitālijs Astafjevs (born 3 April 1971) is a Latvian professional football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is an assistant manager of Cypriot club Aris Limassol having previously held the role for the Latvia national team. Astafjevs won nine Latvian championships with Skonto Riga. He also played abroad for clubs in Austria, England and Russia. At international level, Astaefjevs captained Latvia at UEFA Euro 2004. With 167 caps for his country Astafjevs held the European record for the most international matches played, until being overtaken by Gianluigi Buffon in 2017. He is currently the joint sixteenth-most capped male footballer in history, alongside Iker Casillas.

Photo of Andrejs Rubins

5. Andrejs Rubins (1978 - 2022)

With an HPI of 38.26, Andrejs Rubins is the 5th most famous Latvian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Andrejs Rubins (26 November 1978 – 1 August 2022) was a Latvian professional footballer who played as a left midfielder. He was a member of the Latvia national team. Rubins worked as a football manager.

Photo of Artjoms Rudņevs

6. Artjoms Rudņevs (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 37.72, Artjoms Rudņevs is the 6th most famous Latvian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Artjoms Rudņevs (born 13 January 1988) is a Latvian former professional footballer who played as a striker for Daugava Daugavpils in his home country, for Zalaegerszegi TE in Hungary, for Lech Poznań in Poland, and for Bundesliga clubs Hamburger SV, Hannover 96, and 1. FC Köln. At international level, he represented the Latvia national team.

Photo of Mihails Zemļinskis

7. Mihails Zemļinskis (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 37.44, Mihails Zemļinskis is the 7th most famous Latvian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Mihails Zemļinskis (born 21 December 1969) is a Latvian politician and former professional footballer. He played as a centre-back or sweeper, making over 100 appearances for the Latvia national team.

Photo of Aleksandrs Koļinko

8. Aleksandrs Koļinko (b. 1975)

With an HPI of 34.90, Aleksandrs Koļinko is the 8th most famous Latvian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Aleksandrs Koliņko (born 18 June 1975) is a Latvian professional football coach and a former player. He is the manager of Latvian Higher League club Super Nova.

Photo of Vīts Rimkus

9. Vīts Rimkus (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 34.02, Vīts Rimkus is the 9th most famous Latvian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Vīts Rimkus (born 21 June 1973) is a Latvian former professional footballer who played as a striker.

Photo of Andris Vaņins

10. Andris Vaņins (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 33.96, Andris Vaņins is the 10th most famous Latvian Soccer Player.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Andris Vaņins (born 30 April 1980) is a Latvian former professional footballer who works as a goalkeeping coach for Latvia national under-19 football team. A goalkeeper, he most notably played for Sion, making over 200 league appearances. At international level, he earned 100 caps for the Latvia national team.

People

Pantheon has 24 people classified as Latvian soccer players born between 1936 and 1998. Of these 24, 22 (91.67%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Latvian soccer players include Māris Verpakovskis, Aleksandrs Starkovs, and Vitālijs Astafjevs. The most famous deceased Latvian soccer players include Leonid Ostrovski, and Andrejs Rubins. As of April 2024, 7 new Latvian soccer players have been added to Pantheon including Leonid Ostrovski, Mihails Zemļinskis, and Vīts Rimkus.

Living Latvian Soccer Players

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Deceased Latvian Soccer Players

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Newly Added Latvian Soccer Players (2024)

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